Role of social business in women entrepreneurship development … · entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh: perspectives from Nobin Udyokta projects of Grameen Telecom Trust

RESEARCH Open Access

Role of social business in womenentrepreneurship development inBangladesh: perspectives from NobinUdyokta projects of Grameen TelecomTrustFarhana Ferdousi1* and Parveen Mahmud2

* Correspondence: [email protected] of Business Studies,Southeast University, Dhaka,BangladeshFull list of author information isavailable at the end of the article

Abstract

Social business is a growing phenomenon in the emerging economy due to itsappeal toward reducing social problems from the society. Women’s, especiallyrural women’s, economic activities are mainly confined to the household choresbecause of the existing patriarchal norms of the society. Social businesses,through providing equity funds, are creating opportunities for the women topursue entrepreneurial career. This study attempted to analyze the role of socialbusiness for developing women entrepreneurship. Primary data were collectedfrom 28 women Nobin Udyokta (new entrepreneurs) and four key informantinterviews. The study showed that social business fund plays an important roletoward women entrepreneurship development through providing financial (socialbusiness fund), human (formal or informal training), and social capital (network)to the women entrepreneurs which is necessary for sustainable entrepreneurshipdevelopment. Therefore, government and non-government organizations as wellas private sectors were suggested to come forward to provide more socialbusiness funds and build supportive environment for the women entrepreneurs.

Keywords: Gender equality, Grameen Telecom Trust, Social business fund,Sustainable development goals, women empowerment, and Womenentrepreneurship

IntroductionBackground of the study

Social business fund is an innovative financial tool to eradicate poverty in developing

countries. It is believed that the fund is very popular among young entrepreneurs due

to its low cost, flexible repayment system, and available grace period. In fact, micro-

credit program have mainly emphasized on maintaining a higher repayment rate

through practicing weekly repayment system (WRS) (Mahmud et al., 2019). Due to

WRS of microcredit, entrepreneurs do not get expected benefits (Mahmud et al., 2019).

All those problems can be solved through social business. Social business provides equity

capital to the sons and daughters of Grameen Bank’s borrowers in order to help their

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Journal of GlobalEntrepreneurship Research

Ferdousi and Mahmud Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research (2019) 9:58 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40497-019-0184-0

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second generation to come out of poverty with the means of entrepreneurship. This

unique idea is given by the Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. In order to help

the poor children of Grameen borrowers, he launched a program which is called Nobin

Udyokta (NU) program where social business funds are given to the young entrepreneurs.

According to the report on Nobin Udyokta (Nobin, 2016), it was told that although the

program gained rapid outreach among the male, very few women entrepreneurs partici-

pated in this program (in 2016, Grameen Telecom Trust have 2148 male NU and 39 fe-

male NU). Inclusion of more women is considered as the important means of achieving

gender equality which is one of the sustainable development goals. The NU program is

designed for creating a world without poverty using social business as a tool (Ferdousi

and Mahmud, 2018).

Status of rural women in Bangladesh

According to Bangladesh Labour Force Survey 2017 conducted by Bangladesh Bur-

eau of Statistics (BBS), women represent almost half of the population but labor

force participation rate for women is only 36.3% (Ministry of Finance, 2018).

Women constitute only above 10% of the total number of entrepreneurs in the

country (Ministry of Finance, 2017).

Research studies explored that the rural women of the least developed countries

(LDCs) are economically, financially, and socially vulnerable due to existing patri-

archal norms of the society and are subject to multi-dimensional exploitation

(Mahmud et al. 2017; Fakir, Anjum, Bushra, & Nawar, 2016; Goetz & Gupta, 1996;

Hashemi et al., 1996; Kabeer, 2001; Kabeer & Mahmud, 2004). Under the male-

dominated society, rural women are dependent on the male members for their liv-

ing (Hashemi et al., 1996; Kabeer, 2001; Salway, Rahman, & Jesmin, 2003). Mah-

mud and Bidhisha (2018) identified that a significant percentage of women

employed in rural farm-based activities were unpaid family workers.

Rural women’s economic activities are mainly confined to the household chores, and

their mobility outside the home is also much restricted because of the existing patri-

archal norms (Hilton et al., 2016; Kabeer, 2001; Mahmud et al., 2014; Murshid & Ball,

2018).The number of occupations is also limited to the rural women (Kabeer, 2001;

Mahmud et al., 2014). Rural women have a lack of ownership and control over property

such as land (Khan, et al., 2016; Uddin et al., 2016). They have also a lack of decision-

making capacity (Alkire et al., 2013; Kabeer, 2001). Thus, men’s dominance in the

household decision-making process reduces women’s control over the financial re-

sources (Uddin et al., 2016).Generally, women are less attractive in the labor market

due to their illiteracy, unawareness, less political representation, deprivation, rigid social

customs, religious constraints, and injustice by their counter partners particularly in

rural areas (Hossain & Rahman, 1999; Chowdhury, 2000; Afrin et al., 2008; Tambunan,

2009). Meanwhile, the culture of purdah also restricts women in engaging labor market

activities that are outside their usual household domain, and thereby confine them to

household chores or other labor market activities that can be carried out from the

home (Kabeer et al., 2018). Moreover, rural women have lack of access to credit (Alkire

et al., 2013) that is thought as one of the major obstacles for them to pursue their in-

come generating activities (IGAs) (Mahmud et al., 2019).

Ferdousi and Mahmud Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research (2019) 9:58 Page 2 of 21

Unfortunately, inequalities have been observed in Bangladesh in employing women in

economic activities, for example, the labor force participation rate for female and male

was 36.3% and 80.5% (BBS, 2018). It was also reported women did not get equal wage/

salary to men (BBS, 2018; Mahmud, 2014).

Against this backdrop, women entrepreneurship development remains a challenging

phenomenon in Bangladesh as women are lagged behind (economically and socially)

compared to men (Haque & Itohara, 2009; Rahman, 2009).

Statement of the problem

Status of women in Bangladesh is a major barrier for the development of women entre-

preneurs. Research identified a lack of access for women to financial and social capital,

land, business premises, training, information technology, and male dominance in a

patriarchal society are the influencing factors for women entrepreneurship development

(Mahmud et al., 2019, Weber, & Ahmed, 2014, Ahammad & Huq, 2013). It has also

been argued that conventional financial or banking system in the developing countries

has failed to provide financial services to the rural poor due to higher transaction cost,

collateral requirements, and lack of information (Coleman, 2006; Mallick, 2012; Riedin-

ger, 1994). For few decades, micro credit is provided to encourage women entrepre-

neurship. Researchers showed that microcredit programs play a significant role in

accelerating women’s income (Mahmud et al., 2017, Ferdousi, 2012, 2015; Bashar & Ra-

shid,2012; Garikipati, 2008; Mahjabeen, 2008; Matin & Hulme, 2003), decision-making

abilities (Khalily, 2004; Panjaitan-Drioadisuryo & Cloud, 1999), improving women’s

self-esteem and social status (Ahmed, Siwar, Idris, & Begum, 2011; Hassan & Renteria-

Guerrero, 1997; Swaminathan et al., 2010), increasing mobility (Swaminathan et al.,

2010), fostering women’s empowerment (Hashemi, Schuler, Riley, 1996), reducing fer-

tility (Panjaitan-Drioadisuryo & Cloud, 1999), lessening the prevalence of morbidity

(Ahmed, Adams, Chowdhury, & Bhuiya, 2000), and creating social capital (Dowla,

2006; Mosley, Olejarova, & Alexeeva, 2004).

Thus, there are lots of literature available on microcredit and its impacts on

poverty, entrepreneurship, women empowerment, etc. (Bashar & Rashid, 2012;

Garikipati, 2008; Mahjabeen, 2008; Matin & Hulme, 2003; Datta, 2015; Rahman &

Ahmad, 2010; Ferdousi, 2015). Social business fund can be an attractive alterna-

tive of microcredit in influencing women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. Since

last few years, numerous research are being conducted on social entrepreneurship

which covers broader areas of social purpose driven business. For this study, we

have used the term “social business” defined and practiced by professor Yunus

and his companies which he mentioned as the tiny branch of social entrepreneur-

ship (Yunus, 2007). Thus, research on social entrepreneurship although numerous

but research conducted specifically, in the field of social business is still insignifi-

cant (Ferdousi, 2017; Ferdousi and Mahmud, 2018; Jamadar, 2016) specially re-

lated to social business and women entrepreneurship development arena.

Therefore, this study has taken efforts to investigate the role of social business in

women entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh. Thus, the general objective of

this study is to demonstrate current scenarios of women entrepreneurs under Nobin

Udyokta (NU) program and the specific objective is to analyze how social business


influences women’s entrepreneurial capacities toward sustainable entrepreneurship

development.

Results and discussionDescription of women entrepreneurs

Women entrepreneurs for this study have been selected from eight villages of two dis-

tricts; Narayanganj and Chapainawabganj where Grameen Telecom Trust has invest-

ment. Besides Shibganj and Rohanpur, the rest of all other villages belong to

Narayanganj district. Because Grameen Telecom Trust do not have investment in other

villages.

Social business funds are usually distributed to young entrepreneurs whose age do

not exceed 35. But to promote gender equalities, age bar has been relaxed in the case

of women entrepreneurs (17.86% women exceed 35 years age limit (Table 1)). All the

entrepreneurs in our study were married except one was divorced and started business

activities out of her forced necessities. Women entrepreneurs in our study attained

average 7.7 years of schooling (Table 1).

Women’s entrepreneurial activity can be found in almost all sectors of the economy;

however, evidence from the literature argues that such activity is more dominant in the

service and agricultural sectors compared to other sectors such as manufacturing and

construction (Adom, 2014; Dzisi, 2008). The samples in our study mainly are engaged

in trading and craft-based business. As we could see from Fig. 1 that women entrepre-

neurs’ businesses are mainly related to making, designing, and selling clothes (71%),

few beauty parlors (11%), food (7%), retail trade (7%), and cattle farming (4%) have also

been observed. Except one cattle farmer, the rest of the women entrepreneurs’ busi-

nesses have formal license. This is good indicator of women of economic empower-

ment through creating their own business identity.

Along with their household chores, all the entrepreneurs in this study are trying to

engage themselves in some economic activities. And it is surprising that a large portion

of the respondent (39%) are working more than 10 h every day in addition to their

household activities (Fig. 2). Some family-run businesses do not recognize women as

the entrepreneur or owner of the business. Even they are not given any salary or in-

come of her own from such business. It is inhuman not to recognize their work as sep-

arate business entity. One of the respondents from Chapainawabganj was saying,

Although the business is in my own name, but the major time to run the business is

given by my husband. I managed to give 6 hours every day for our business. But I do

not take any money for myself from the business.

However, she was at least satisfied that her husband usually do not disagree to allow

her taking some pocket money if she require.

Regarding family size, most of the families of entrepreneurs have 3–6 members where

almost all of them, at least, have two working members (Table 1).

In response to the question, “Why did they start doing business?” majority of them

(66%) replied that they would like to earn by their own in order to support their family.

One of the respondents from Chapainawabganj expressed her reason to start business

in the following way:


I always stood first in my class. Due to lack of money, I couldn’t continue my study

after SSC. After getting married, poverty also stuck with me. My husband is a truck

driver and he has to leave outside frequently due to the necessity of his profession.

Out of my strong willingness and intelligence, I started to fight against poverty with

a small piece of business through weaving loom. After saving some money, I started

Table 1 Description of women entrepreneurs

Properties Mean Frequency Percentage %

1. Age1.1Age up to 35 years1.2 Age above 35 year

32 years––

–235

–82.1417.86

2. Education2.1 Above primary education2.2 Below primary education

7.71 years––

–217

–7525

3. Marital status3.1 Married3.2 Divorced

–––

–271

–96.423.57

4. Family size 4.64 person – –

5. Family type5.1 Male-headed5.2 Female-headed

–––

–271

–96.423.57

6. Number of working members in the family 2.36 person – –

7. Average working hour per day 7.68 h – –

8. Average investment size of GTT8.1 Narayanganj8.2 Chapainabaganj

US$ 705.63(BDT 57,932)US$ 748.22US$ 659.77

––––

––––

9. Average monthly income of women entrepreneurs9.1 Narayanganj9.2 Chapainabaganj

US$ 207.06(BDT 17,000)US$ 128.76US$ 291.39

––––

––––

10. Empowerment index10.1 Narayanganj10.2. Chapainabaganj

72.6174.9970.23

–––

–––

1USD = 82. 10 BDT in 2018 (Ministry of Finance, 2018)BDT indicates Bangladesh Taka (currency of Bangladesh)

Fig. 1 Type of business


a small grocery shop. Then I bought a sewing machine and started tailoring. Now I

have three machines. I also provide training to other underprivileged girl. Because I

know the hardship of poverty. That’s why I wish nobody should face such acute

poverty like me. Therefore, I try to help others so that they can be self-employed and

fight against poverty.

Another respondent from Narayanganj said,

Since I am separated from my husband, I have no other choices than to start business".

Another respondent from Ahad Bastraloy, age more than 40 years, told,

"My husband is a patient of heart disease. I had to manage everything of my family

by myself. From buying clothes from wholesale market to sell them, cooking for

family and making appointment with doctors, everything is managed by myself.

Thus women entrepreneurs are basically necessity-driven entrepreneur. Growing evi-

dence indicates that women entrepreneurs in transition and less-developed economies

are particularly likely to be motivated by necessity motivation, with empirical studies

from Hungary (Hisrich & Fulop, 2004), Puerto Rico (Hisrich, 1984), Uzbekistan (Welter

et al., 2006), and Ukraine (Isakova, Krasovska, Kavunenko, & Lugovy, 2006) has drawn

this conclusion. However, 25% respondents were involved in family-run businesses.

Specially, those who were making zamdani and tat shilpo, they usually stepped in busi-

ness in order to scale up their family business.

Parveen, age 42 runs Eity Zamdani House along with her family members. She

learned weaving loom from her father-in-law. Another respondent, age 28, owner of

Runa Laila Bastraloy also mentioned that she and her husband jointly run their busi-

ness. She started business after her marriage in order to help her husband in generating

more income.

Fig. 2: Average hour contributed to economic activity


Caputo and Dolinsky (1998) found that having a self-employed husband was the sin-

gle most important determinant of a woman being self-employed. Findings of Carter,

Williams, and Reynolds (1997) and Loscocco et al. (1991) also reported that prior ex-

perience in other businesses, industry-specific experience, and starting the business

with partners are sometimes serves as a key determinant of small business success.

Only one respondent (3%) having boutique house mentioned that she started her busi-

ness out of her own interest (Fig. 3).

Average investment size of the Grameen Telecom Trust was US$ 705.63. Investment

was slightly higher in Narayanganj (US$ 748.22) than Chapainawabganj (US$ 659.77).

In terms of income, our findings showed that entrepreneurs in Chapainawabganj earn

more income than the entrepreneurs in Narayanganj. The average incomes of the en-

trepreneurs in these two districts were US$ 128.76 and US$ 291.39 for Narayanganj

and Chapainawabganj respectively. But in terms of women empowerment, entrepre-

neurs in Chapainawabganj remain slightly behind than the entrepreneurs in

Narayanganj.

In case of empowerment-related issues, women entrepreneurs in Narayanganj are

more advance (Empowerment index 74.99) than Chapainawabganj (70.23). The rea-

son perhaps, Narayanganj is peri-urban areas where women empowerment is ex-

pected to be higher. And more empowerment is supposed to be the means of

more increased income. Literally, empowerment translates into psychological and

behavioral manifestations such as self-confidence, self-regulation, flexible thinking,

active engagement with the environment, leadership, dominance, and increased de-

cision making power (Diener & Biswas-Diener, 2005). However, such manifesta-

tions are generally expected to increase chances for entrepreneurial success. For

example, a self-confident entrepreneur would more likely feel competent to sell

his/her products or services to clients (Henao-Zapata & Peiró, 2018) and would be

more likely to pursue series of income generating activities. Due to patriarchal

norms in the society and women those who are engaged in family runs business,

do not score high on empowerment issues. But entrepreneurs running separate

business are doing better in empowerment aspects. For example, Sabiron Begum

whose husband was a truck driver, said,

I run multiple businesses (selling clothes, tailoring, making handicrafts, cattle rearing

etc). My husband used to live outside of my family due to his profession. I have no

other way than to travel alone many places due to buy and sell different

commodities for my business.

It has been observed that investment and empowerment index is relatively high in

Narayanganj but their relative share of income is less than the entrepreneurs in Chapai-

nawabganj. Key informant interview with social business team leader identified the rea-

son behind such difference is due to some regional factors.

Narayanganj is a popular whole sale market in Bangladesh. Therefore,

entrepreneurs get very marginal profit there and competition is also very high.

Whereas, entrepreneurs in Chapainabaganj usually are the residents of those

regions, therefore, their social capitals also help them to increase sales and profit


margin. Moreover, popular urban retail house ‘Arong’ give their orders to the

people of that region. They use their skills in selling similar products in other

market places with higher profit margin as well.

During interview, most of the entrepreneurs told that they do not face any prob-

lem from their husband, other members from in-law’s house, and from friends and

neighbors for doing business and going out for conducting business-related activ-

ities. Rather, women entrepreneurs sometimes get support from their husband and

other family members due to their engagement in business. Some of them stated,

Without my husband’s cooperation, I cannot even conduct my business smoothly".

Another respondent said, "since I remain occupied with my business my mother

used to live with us. She does most of the household chores and even sometimes

seat at my shop to sell commodities.

Once, households in villages have numerous children. Patriarchal society with the

hope of having son gave birth to numerous children. This tendency has been reduced

due to women’s engagement in self-employment and empowerment.

For example, Sabiron has two daughters and no son. While we asked her,

whether she would take another child with the hope of son. She answered “no”.

Because she is satisfied with her daughters and they are also contributing like son

for her family. With the help of her daughters, she used to make handicrafts and

sell in the market.

Thus, most of the entrepreneurial theories like human capital theory, disadvantage

theory of entrepreneurship, and cultural concept theory are no longer barriers for the

observed entrepreneurs. Rather creating entrepreneurial support system for these

women entrepreneurs are required, which has been rightly identified by Grameen Tele-

com Trust and other social business companies.

Fig. 3 Reasons for starting business


Role of social business

Grameen Telecom Trust conducts design labs in their unit offices to assess the busi-

ness of the entrepreneurs in terms of investment opportunities and capabilities of the

entrepreneur to run the business. Based on evaluation and recommendation from the

design lab participants, they sanction any amount of money that is asked for and rec-

ommended by the participating design lab members.

Based on the size of business, they disburse money usually ranging from US$ 609 to

US$ 6,090. For more potential larger businesses, they allocate more money. Along with

giving funds to entrepreneurs, Grameen Telecom Trust also provides training to entre-

preneurs. They provide training in keeping business record, preparing half-yearly in-

come statement, inventory management and investment opportunity analysis, business

diversification, innovation and new market exploration, etc. They are also trying to pro-

vide a platform to those women entrepreneurs from where they can sell their commod-

ities with reasonable market prices. They arrange annual award giving ceremony for

best entrepreneurs which is also accelerating achievement orientation among the entre-

preneurs. Other entrepreneurs follow the best entrepreneurs as the benchmark of their

own and thus help them to achieve reasonable business growth.

Grameen Telecom Trust thus plays an important role toward women entrepreneur-

ship development through providing financial (social business fund), human (formal or

informal training), and social capital (network) to the women entrepreneurs. Human

capital include formal education, experience, and practical learning that takes place on

the job, as well as non-formal education, such as specific training courses that are not a

part of traditional formal educational structures (Davidson and Honing, 2003). Thus,

broad labor market experience, as well as specific vocationally oriented experience, is

theoretically predicted to increase human capital (Becker, 1964). Along with equity

fund, social business enterprises through mentoring, and sharing information also in-

crease potential human capital of the entrepreneurs. Davidsson and Honig (2003) ar-

gued that the two important components of social capital is trust and ties. Social

capital can be a useful resource both by enhancing internal organizational trust through

the bonding of actors, as well as by bridging external networks in order to provide re-

sources (Adler and Kwon, 2002; Putnam, 2000). It is stated that social capital consists

of trust, often is a result of obligations, threat of censure, and exchange (Coleman,

1988; Granovetter, 1985). This trust forms a bonding (or exclusive) glue that holds

closely knit organizations together. Moreover, social capital consists of ties, provide re-

sources such as information, and a bridging (inclusive) lubricant (Putnam, 2000).

Women entrepreneurs who have taken social business fund are not only enjoying fi-

nancial capital but also are enriched with enhanced human and social capital.

Key informant interview regarding the role of social business revealed that social

business enterprises are empowering women through acknowledging their informal in-

come generating activities as a separate business entity. One of the informants was

saying,

Before disbursing fund to women we asked them “what do you do?” Many Women

answered “I do household work”. Then they asked them “do your household works

generate any income?” They answered “yes” (i.e. I sell milk, egg, vegetables and

handicrafts etc. from my produce). Then we make them convinced that “so you are


entrepreneur”. We would like to give you fund to expand your income generating

activities

This is how social business not only help women entrepreneurs to generate increased

income but also acknowledge their small business activities as business enterprises

which undoubtedly make women feel empowered.

Fund disbursement requires entrepreneurs to have business license and formal bank

account for business transaction. Throughout this initiative, women entrepreneurs will

get formal recognition not only from their family members but also from the industry.

Some of the women mentioned that they did not have any bank account before receiv-

ing money from Grameen Telecom Trust. All of them have received a revenue and ex-

penditure recording book, where they have to record every day’s transaction. In

addition to that, they have to report their business transaction every day through text

message which increases their accountability and responsibility to do the business sin-

cerely. Moreover, those practices gradually improve their business operations.

One of the respondents was saying,

Before taking funds from Grameen Telecom Trust, I have many unsold commodities

in the selves, but now with the suggestion of GTT officers, I replaced them with

most frequently selling items which undoubtedly has increased my income.

Thus they have learned improved inventory management techniques.

Along with educating them account keeping, Grameen Telecom Trust also teach

them cash flow management and supports them to get access to the market. One of

the respondents was saying,

The greatest challenge that I face in my business is getting access to market.

Sometimes I delivered products to different urban sellers but did not get back my

price duly. This creates serious cash flow problem for my business.

To deal with such problem, GTT has also created a platform, which is named as

“Pashra,” for those type of disadvantaged entrepreneur. Pashra is an outlet where the

products produced by Nobin Udyokta will be sold to the urban market. Besides, Gram-

een Check also keeps products of Nobin Udyokta in their outlet. This is how Gram-

een’s social business help underprivileged entrepreneurs in getting easy access to

market and ensure fair prices for their produce.

Best entrepreneur award is given every year by Yunus Center which also sets a goal

for those entrepreneurs to do hard work for getting an award. This also creates a plat-

form to share information about others’ business activities which might inspire rest

other entrepreneurs.

While talking about the contribution of Grameen Telecom Trust, one of the respond-

ent was saying,

Shonen apa lav na hole ki taka chai? Taka to aro chaisilam kintu dilo to matro

40,000 taka. Vobishote amra aro taka nite chai. Kenona ete amader sud dite hoina. 3

mas por theke amra taka porishodh korte pari.


Which means she acknowledges the usefulness of the social business fund which she

feels much better than any other microcredit type fund. Because here they need not to

start repayment from next week. They enjoy 3 to 6 months grace period and they have

flexibility over their repayment schedule. They do not even need any collateral to access

to the fund.

One of the respondents while sharing her experience said,

It is true that we had been taking loan since 18 years from ASA. But now we are

more privileged to get fund from Grameen Telecom Trust. Because we can start

repayment after three months which is a great help for running business smoothly.

Another respondent who was divorced expressed her feeling in the following way:

Fund was the main obstacle to expand my business. I would remain grateful to

Grameen Telecom Trust to stay beside me when everybody in my family keeps me

away.

Another respondent making Zamdani sharee was saying,

This money is very useful during pick season when we have plenty of orders but we

cannot take the order due to lack of capital. This kind of social business initiative is

really great.

In acknowledging Grameen Telecom Trust’s contribution, Runa Laila Begum, said,

I like the flexible repayment system of the fund which is much better than

microcredit system. Moreover, no collateral and interest is required. If this system

continues for a long time, we could do manage our business well.

Thus, social business fund can solve all the problems of traditional funding sources,

i.e., high interest rate, rigid repayment system, problem of collateral, etc.

But one constraint that most of the observed entrepreneurs mentioned “funds dis-

bursement took longer time. If the duration of funds application and allocation could

be reduced then it will be helpful for us.”

Literature reviewNobin Udyokta Program and role of Grameen Telecom Trust

A social business is a business that pays no dividends. It sells products at prices that

make it self-sustaining. The owners of the company can get back the amount they have

invested in the company over a period of time, but no profit is paid to investors in the

form of dividends. Instead, any profit made stays in the business to finance expansion,

to create new products or services, and to do more good for the world (Yunus, 2007).

Among the social businesses, Nobin Udyokta Program (NUP) is an innovative social

business program for turning unemployment into entrepreneurship (Ferdousi and

Mahmud, 2018). It was introduced by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus in

2014. Based on seven social business principles, funds are given to the potential Nobin

Udyoktas. This is a joint investment projects between Nobin Udyokta and Grameen


companies. Among the four Grameen companies (Grameen Telecom Trust, Grameen

Trust, Grameen Kallyan, Grameen Shakti Samajik Baboshai Limited), Grameen Tele-

com Trust (GTT) is one of the prominent social business companies. The role of

Grameen Company is like venture capitalist firm, as they identify potential entrepre-

neurs, incubate, and provide necessary supports for the promotion of their new ven-

tures. Innovative feature of this social business investment is that no profit will be

taken by the venture capitalist firm, except the processing cost of the funds which in

turn helps the business growth and creates more opportunities for more Nobin Udyok-

tas (Ferdousi and Mahmud, 2018). Social business funds are usually allocated to the

family members of the Grameen Bank’s borrowers whose age are 18–35 years. Age

limit is relaxed for women entrepreneurs in order to encourage women entrepreneur-

ship development. Compared to men, women’s participation was quite negligible (in

2016, GTT has only 39 women Nobin Udyokta while male Nobin Udyokta were 2,148)

(Nobin, 2016). The reasons are generally the patriarchal norms of the society and

women’s participation in family-run business which is often are not recognized as their

own business. But Grameen Telecom Trust encourages their family to recognize her

business as separate women-owned business entity and provides equity capital to ex-

pand the business operation. Through regional offices, Grameen Teleocm Trust con-

duct design lab (business proposal evaluation), disburse social business fund, and

monitor business ventures (Nobin, 2016).

Entrepreneurship theories

Women’s perspective toward success is different from male counterpart. Various entre-

preneurship theories available in the literature provide various perspectives in deter-

mining women entrepreneurship development issues. Female entrepreneurs do not

view their businesses as separate economic entities but rather as endeavors entwined

with other aspects of their lives—particularly their familial relationships and responsi-

bilities (Jennings & Brush, 2013). The feminine strategies include collaborations, work-

life, and diversity strategies, whereas the masculine strategies are more business-focused

strategies (Kropf et al., 2003). Numerous studies indicate that women are especially

motivated to start their own businesses in the hopes of attaining a better balance be-

tween work and family (Brush, 1990; Chaganti, 1986; Cromie & Hayes, 1988; De Mar-

tino & Barbato, 2003; Goffee & Scase, 1985; Holmquist & Sundin, 1988; Hughes, 2005;

Kaplan, 1988; Parasuraman & Simmers, 2001; Scott, 1986).

Feminist theories believe that women deserve equal political and legal rights (Beauchamp

and Bowie, 2004). Kabeer (2016) argued that women’s greater access to valued resources in-

creases their bargaining power within the household and ensures that household resources

are allocated in closer alignment with their preferences. Evolving from the feminist theories,

the deprivation argument states that societal views deprive women of education, industry

experience, networking relationships, and access to capital (Appelbaum, Audet & Miller,

2003; Cron, Bruton & Slocum, 2006). Deprivation of these opportunities can affect women

in less empowerment and low entrepreneurial successes. Human capital theory states that

lower investment in women’s education and training diminishes opportunities for women

to advance in entrepreneurial career (Dreher, 2003). Literatures on women’s entrepreneur-

ship shows relationship between and among human capital elements, such as level of


education, area of education, business training and experience from previous employment

and motivation, business performance, and income of the women entrepreneurs (Coleman,

2007; Cooper, Gimeno-Gascon, & Woo, 1994). Bates (1990) found that entrepreneurs who

had a college education were dramatically less likely to fail than those who did not. The sig-

nificant relationship among education and firms’ survival, growth, success, and profitability

were also found in several other research (Cooper, Gimeno-Gascon, & Woo, 1994; Kanga-

sharju & Pekkala, 2002; Pena, 2002).

In addition, the concepts of the cultural theory of entrepreneurship assumes that

compared to male counterparts, women are less successful in business based on cul-

tural differences (Smith-Hunter & Boyd, 2004). Thus women become entrepreneurs be-

cause of disadvantages in the labor market (Smith-Hunter & Boyd, 2004), which is

supported by the disadvantage theory of entrepreneurship.

Evidence shows that in most cultures, being an entrepreneur is not an excuse for be-

ing relieved of her domestic responsibilities (Goffee & Scase, 1985). This encourages

women business to remain smaller, with less capital, to have lower revenues, and fewer

employees and resides in lower profit industries (Bird, 1988). Research also (Buttner &

Rosen, 1988) revealed that bank loan officers tended to rate women significantly lower

than men on attributes typically associated with successful entrepreneurs. It is also per-

ceived that bankers discriminated against women business owners (Riding & Swift,

1990); thus, the greater dissatisfaction expressed by female entrepreneurs with respect

to banking experiences (e.g., Fabowale, McKechnie, Orser, Riding, & Swift, 1995); and

their lower propensity to apply for various forms of financing (e.g., Becker-Blease &

Sohl, 2007; Orser et al., 2006).

However, all those factors that interrupt women entrepreneurship development

might be overcooked through women empowerment tools which facilitate proactive be-

havior by inducing an implemental mindset (Keltner et al. 2003), and increasing free-

dom of action and decreasing avoidant behavior (Ozer and Bandura 1990).

Academic researches have very limited evidence on women entrepreneurship that will

either validate or challenge the above-mentioned theories of entrepreneurship. There-

fore, this study takes an effort to add value to the women entrepreneurship literature

from the perspective of social business funding experience.

Women empowerment

Empowerment is a process of awareness and capacity building, leading to a greater par-

ticipation and decision making power (Pandey, 2015). Empowerment is defined as “…

the expansion of assets and capabilities of poor people to participate in, negotiate with,

influence, control, and hold accountable institutions that affect their lives” (Narayan

2005). Indicators of empowerment often include control over resources, participation

in household and community decision-making, mobility in the public sphere, feelings

of self-worth and efficacy, and better treatment at home and in the community (Kabeer,

2001; Noponen, 2003).

Bhuiyan et. al., (2013) use growth of income and consumption, the reduction of vul-

nerability to and alleviation of poverty, health, safety, and children’s schooling as factors

defining empowerment. Khan and Noree (2012) use a five-factor model of empower-

ment including child health, education, selection of spouse of children, purchase of


basic goods, and decision of household savings. Thus, empowerment is viewed as a

multidimensional concept that consists of more than one variable (Ali & Hatta, 2012).

Weber and Ahmed (2014) viewed empowerment from two perspective; financial em-

powerment and social empowerment. Financial empowerment indicators are the

utilization of the loan (Khan & Noree, 2012), the contribution to household expend-

iture (Kabeer, 2001; Schuler & Rottach, 2010), income and income decision (Bhuiyan et

al., 2013), equal participation in resource allocation (Muhammad et al., 2012), and sav-

ings (Khan & Noree, 2012). While social empowerment indicators are domestic deci-

sion making (Hunt & Kasynathan, 2001; Todd, 1996), schooling of children (Bhuiyan et

al., 2013; Nader, 2008), and freedom of movement (Kabeer, 2005; Noponen, 2003).

Social business, entrepreneurship, and empowerment

Social business is regarded as a means to empower women in developing countries by

supporting entrepreneurship. Studies showed that small business fund, like microcredit,

increases income of the micro entrepreneurs (Ferdousi, 2015; Ferdousi et al., 2012;

Bradley et al., 2012; Mahmud et al., 2017; Mahmud et al., 2019). Study on venture cap-

ital also found evidences of increased income of the small entrepreneurs (Memba et al.,

2012; Samila & Sorenson, 2011; Smolarski, and Kut, 2011; Ferdousi & Mahmud, 2018).

Moreover, venture capital not only assists SME in the provision of funds but also in the

internal operations of the business especially in policy formulation (Memba et al.,

2012). Samila and Sorenson (2011) in their research estimated that an additional invest-

ment could stimulate the entry of 7 to 36.7 establishments, 0% to 1.0% expansion in

the number of jobs, and a 1.4% to 6.4% increase in aggregate income.

Studies on microfinance showed positive impact on women empowerment. For ex-

ample, results of Swain and Wallentin (2009) suggest that women who were members

of a microfinance program experienced a significant increase in empowerment com-

pared to a non-member group. In another study, Chowdhury and Chowdhury (2011)

concluded that the participation in a microloan program created significantly higher

outcomes, including empowerment, for the participants.

Therefore, it is also expected that social business fund will play substantial role in de-

veloping women entrepreneurship development. But to the best of our knowledge, no

studies have been conducted yet in this particular filed.

This study also believes that women entrepreneurship has a link with empowerment, be-

cause ownership not only provides control over assets but also gives her the freedom to take

decision. It is believed that entrepreneurial activity of women can lead to improved family

dynamics and well-being, such as more respectful marital relationships and the ability to

provide better food, clothing, and education for their children (Datta & Gailey, 2012; Scott

et al., 2012; Jennings & Brush (2013). Pandey (2015) argued that a women, as an entrepre-

neur, is economically more powerful than as a mere worker. Individuals who feel psycho-

logically empowered are more likely to act freely and independently in situations of risk and

uncertainty, anticipate problems, and demonstrate persistence and resourcefulness when

challenging conditions (e.g., high uncertainty) appear at work (Spreitzer, 1995, 1996, 2008).

Weber and Ahmed (2014) argued that empowering a person means enabling him to achieve

certain goals. Thus women entrepreneurship might enable them to achieve more financial

and social empowerment which is important for women’s sustainable livelihood.


MethodologyResearch design

This study applied exploratory research design based on mostly qualitative research

technique. Exploratory research is particularly useful in new product development or

identifying business opportunities which give more insights in adding more value to

customers (Zikmund et al., 2013). According to Zikmund (2013), exploratory research

often guides the subsequent other researches. Since Nobin Udyokta program, especially

inclusion of women entrepreneur, is still in early stage, therefore, exploratory research

is more suitable.

Currently, four Grameen companies are providing social business fund to the young

entrepreneurs (also known as new entrepreneur/Nobin Udyokta in local language). We

have taken Grameen Telecom Trust purposively, as their program is achieving momen-

tum success in reaching more number of clients. The data for this study have been col-

lected during January–February, 2018. Initially, Grameen Telecom Trust had this

program in few districts (namely Rangpur, Gaibandha, Jessore Chapainawabganj, and

Narayanganj). Among those, we have purposively selected two districts (Narayanganj

and Chapainawabganj) where sizeable entrepreneurs were available and taken all those

entrepreneurs who have taken fund for more than 1 year. Few limitations constraints

this study to add more areas and more respondents: (i) the Nobin Udyokta program es-

pecially women entrepreneurship program was in very pre-mature stage and funds

were not even disbursed in many other districts; (ii) unlike microcredit program, Nobin

Udyokta do not live in a cluster and reaching to all of them was a matter of budget and

time concerns; and (iii) moreover, other districts have very few outreach, only three or

four entrepreneurs have taken fund, and some of the districts have only one or two

entrepreneurs.

Beside this, four key informant interviews were also conducted with social business

team leader, coordinator, and two unit managers in order to have overall understanding

about the program such as investment perspectives, regional characteristics, and other

ins and out of the social business. We conducted two sessions with each of the individ-

ual separately. One session was conducted before the interview with women entrepre-

neurs. After having data from women entrepreneurs, few questions were raised and

then another session was conducted.

Data collection procedure and tools

Both primary and secondary data were used in this study. Primary data were collected

based on 28 interviews (14 from Narayanganj and 14 from Chapainawabganj) and four

key informant interviews on social business team leader, coordinator, and two filed offi-

cer. All the interviews were tape recorded and took 25–35 min on an average. The re-

searchers themselves were directly involved in the field level data collection. For

conducting interview with women entrepreneurs, checklist were prepared and semi-

structured questionnaires were also developed to evaluate women empowerment re-

lated aspects. Key informant interviews were conducted with each individual separately

mainly to know about the mechanisms of the program and role of the program in

women entrepreneurship development. Since the nature of the study was qualitative,

interview techniques were found suitable. The secondary data were collected mainly


from secondary sources like reports of the Nobin Udyokta, official publication of the

Grameen Telecom Trust, reputed journals and books, etc. Primary data were collected

mostly following qualitative approach. Supplementary qualitative data were collected

through observation.

Data analysis

The collected qualitative data were analyzed using explanatory approach corresponding

to the research objectives. Quantitative data were analyzed by using table, graphs, and

charts to improve readability of the reports.

Based on available literature (Ewerling et al., 2017; Kabeer, 1999; Malhotra & Schuler,

2005; Mason & Smith, 2003; Agarwala & Lynch, 2006; Biswas & Kabir’s, 2004), ques-

tionnaires have been designed and women empowerment was measured following per-

centage formula which is also available in Biswas and Kabir’s (2004) study

(Empowerment index score = total score obtained/maximum possible score × 100).

Ten criteria have been used for measuring women empowerment: mobility, decision

making, autonomy, ownership, freedom, political awareness, social awareness, repro-

ductive rights, access to media, and contribution to family expenditure. Each criteria

have several sub criteria and have been given score based on their response. For ex-

ample, mobility, decision making, autonomy, and freedom has been assessed based on

their answer like particular activities have been performed alone, performed jointly with

husband, performed with other family members, performed with friends/neighbors, and

not at all. For activities performed alone will carry 2, not at all 0 and for others 1. For

measuring ownership, two categories responses were included “owner” and “not

owner.” For participation in social and development activities, four categories responses

have been formed like “very often participates,” “sometimes participates,” “rarely partic-

ipates,” and “not at all.”

Considering the recent socio-demographic change in the society, researchers have

added few criteria, i.e., access to internet, frequency of reading the newspaper, having a

personal account in Facebook, having bank account in her own name, etc. After meas-

uring each individual criteria, a composite women empowerment index have been

calculated.

ConclusionThe purpose of this study was to investigate the role of social business in developing

women entrepreneurship. The study focused only on women Nobin Udyokta which is

rare inclusion in previous other empirical researches. Findings showed that social busi-

ness, although in its early stage, has gained popularity over microcredit because of no

collateral, flexible repayment system, grace period for several months, no interest rest,

and availability of larger amount of fund than microcredit.

Entrepreneurship is a tool to achieve economic empowerment among less educated,

less skilled women who are being avoided by the traditional labor market. Generally,

women entrepreneurs, especially in rural areas, are not highly educated and invest

small amount of money mostly in their family runs business with a motivation to earn

some income by their own with which they can either support their family or build

economic security for themselves, and for children’s education in future. They do not


have adequate access to formal financial sources due to lack of collateral. Microcredits,

available in non-government organizations (NGOs), are smaller in size and provided

with high interest rate. Therefore, social business fund could be the innovative solution

for women entrepreneurs. Moreover, women entrepreneurs are sometimes discrimi-

nated in accessing market and getting appropriate prices for their products due to the

lack of adequate network and mobility. Social business enterprises through “Grameen

Check,” “Pashra,” and organizing global fair help women entrepreneurs to reduce such

barriers.

Women entrepreneurs are playing dual role in their family by doing household

chores and either helping or actively doing their own business. They have only either

primary or higher secondary level education; therefore, business-related informal edu-

cation and training program would be effective strategies to run their business confi-

dently. Night classes can be conducted to enhance their business knowledge and skills,

which will not hamper their regular business activities. Existing patriarchal norms im-

poses restriction on women having access to productive resources, making decisions,

and mobility which is very important for starting business. Government, NGOs, private

enterprises, and society should come forward to ease the barriers for women entrepre-

neurship development and they can also replicate social business model to help entre-

preneurs. Women entrepreneurship friendly policies and support services should be

designed in order to help them pursue more appropriate business goals and opportun-

ities, facilitate them to access to market and information, etc.

Limitation of the researchThis study was conducted in the very early stage of social business funding to women

entrepreneurs. Therefore, only exploratory research approach has been applied. Future

research can be conducted based on quantitative research with more samples.

AbbreviationsBBS: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; GTT: Grameen Telecom Trust; IGA: Income generating activities; LDC: Leastdeveloped countries; NU: Nobin Udyokta; NUP: Nobin Udyokta Program; NGO: Non-government organization;WRS: Weekly repayment system

AcknowledgementThis study would like to express deep gratitude to Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus for hisencouragement, guidance, and direct assistance during the data collection. The authors acknowledge the ManagingDirector of Grameen Telecom Trust for her contribution in providing necessary logistic support for conducting the in-depth interview with the entrepreneurs and allowing access to other necessary information as required. This study willowe to the Yunus Center team members, Jayanta Kumar Basu, K.M. Saleheen, Shikder M. Zafry, and others for theircontribution in data collection, data editing and compilation. The authors also would like to acknowledge MohammadMamun Ar Rashid, Cambridge Examiner of English, for English expression and editing. This study also remember theencouragement and support of Lamiya Morshed, Executive director of Yunus Center and Ehsanul Bari, Managing dir-ector, Grameen Krishi Foundation.

Availability of dataThis data set was generated through series of interview with the entrepreneurs who have taken social business fundfrom Grameen Telecom Trust under the Nobin Udyokta project and the project beneficiaries. The raw data was notshown in the manuscript but if necessary the authors can supply the data.

Author’s contributionFF contributed in drafting the initial study, including literature review, methodology, obtaining data, analyzing thedata, and initial interpretation of the results. MP contributed in the refining the study background, objectives, and insharpening the study findings. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

FundingNo formal funding was available for this project but some logistic support for data collection was provided byGrameen Telecom Trust.


Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Author details1School of Business Studies, Southeast University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2Grameen Telecom Trust, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Received: 29 January 2019 Accepted: 29 August 2019

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